Forgotten Dreams
by Neon-IceFire
Summary: Hiorie Akechi lost his comrades in the last chunin exams. One year later he tries again, but this time, the competition is twice as hard. First fic, bad at summarys, sorry. rating for safety.
1. The Day Before The Chaos

Disclaimer: I own none but squad 11.

HI! This is my first fic so I hope u enjoy, please be nice, and any constructive criticism would be highly appreciated

**Forgotten Dreams**

Hiorie Akechi sat on top of the fourth's stone head, looking down on Konoha. Tomorrow was the day he has been waiting for, the Chunnin Exams!

"So Kuro, you ready?" Hiorie asked, turning around to look at his companion.

"You know it." The boy said enthusiastically. Hiorie laughed, Kuro was always ready for any challenge anyone threw at him.

Hiorie had dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders. He wore his protector around his eyes as a blindfold. No one knew why and he wasn't willing to tell. His black jeans fell to his ankles and he wore a dark purple, skin-tight shirt which had a harness over it, holding the majority of Hiorie's weapons. Over the harness, he wore a long-sleeve, light brown jacket. It was made from a special material that was fit for any type of weather .Attached to his thighs; he had two hook shots which he used in any situation.

"This day is going by way to slowly." Hiorie said more to himself than anyone else.

"Hiorie, Kuro!" A girl with long, sparkling, light blue hair who looked like a combination between Sakura and Ino with a green, sleeveless tunic came running up to them. Her tunic stopped at her mid-thigh area. She wore gloves that came half way up her forearm. "Guys, Kazu-sensei needs us down by the gate."

"Man, I just starting enjoying the scenery, too." Kuro complained, his dreadlocks flipping in the wind.

"Dark blue shorts and a bright red shirt." The girl said, looking awkwardly at Kuro's appearance. "Somebody seriously needs a fashion designer."

"Is that a challenge?" Kuro responded threatingly, placing his hands on his two short swords which he kept tied to the back of his waist.

"Damn right!" She shouted at him reaching to her side and revealing a navy blue tonfa.

The two jumped at each other, ready to strike. They were about to make contact when then were thrown back on the ground and were unable to move.

"Can I leave you two alone for one minute with out any casualties?" Hiorie asked whilst restraining them down with his hook shots. He held them there for a few minutes before letting them go.

"Awww isn't this sweet. You actually do care what happens to us. Which, now that I think about it, is pretty strange for you?" Kuro thought aloud.

"I don't give a damn if you fight; but when the Chunnin Exams are tomorrow, I'm going to take at least a little effort to calm you two idiots down." Hiorie said rather threatingly. The girl was going to say something but Hiorie stopped her. "This goes for you too, Kysona." She stuck her tongue out at him and he just rolled his eyes.

"Can we get going now? Sensei is going to pissed that were taking so long." Kuro said as if he had been waiting for hours.

"Alright, let's go!" Hiorie shouted jumping off the fourth's stone head and running down the cliff.

888

"There, finally found you!" Kuro said exhausted and out of breath.

"All I needed was to talk to Hiorie. You guys didn't need to come." Kazu said looking at Kysona and Kuro.

"Are you serious?" Kuro complained. "Then why'd you say he needed to see _us_?" He said turning to Kysona.

"I thought you could use a good work out." Kysona stated plainly. They laughed.

"Hiorie, come with me." Kazu said seriously. They turned and jumped into the woods.

"Cya!" Kuro shouted after them. He turned to Kysona. She was staring off into the distance, a saddened look in her eyes. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I just got a bad feeling in my gut. As if something bad is going to happen." She said as she turned to him and smiled an unconfident smile.

'What's up with her today?' he thought to himself. 'I've never seen her so…… worried.' He walked up to her and lightly grabbed her shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you home." She smiled again and nodded.

888

After about a half-a-mile of jumping through the trees, they stopped and went to the ground. Kazu turned to Hiorie. He sighed, "Look, I have a very important mission that can't be ignored. I'm not going to be here for most of the Chunnin exams. So, I'm leaving you in charge of making sure that squad 11 makes it through this alive."

"Why me? Why don't you ask Kuro to do it? He's a better ninja than I am anyways." Hiorie replied arrogantly.

"Because he doesn't have experience in these exams like you do." Kazu said. "You're a year more mature than he is. You know what these exams are and how serious they can be, he doesn't."

"Why should I deal the past?" Hiorie questioned, having trouble keeping control of his anger. "I've chosen to forget those memories. They no longer have any value to me!" His voice started to get louder. "I failed! I couldn't protect my friends because I wasn't ready for these exams and they paid the price for it! I let my pride get in the way, and because of that, Angel and Kosuke died! They were ready and I wasn't! I didn't want to hold them back and I felt too shameful to say that I wasn't ready! I understand that and I swear on my life that I will not fail again! Never again will I let my comrades die!" Hiorie was breathing heavily staring his sensei in eye he said slowly, "I will never fail again." He grabbed a kunai and cut deep into his hand. "That is my oath and I will hold true to it." Hiorie's breathing had slowed down. Blood was dripping down to his fingertips.

Kazu took Hiorie's hand and wrapped it up with a cloth. "Look, all I'm saying is do everything possible to keep them alive, even if it means dropping out early. I got to go." Then he disappeared into the darkness.

Hiorie walked over to a tree, laid his back against it and slid down it. He took a deep breath and got lost in his memories. The world around him started to fade and he fell into a restless sleep.

_YAY!!! Chapter 1 done! I know it was kind of bad, but I was trying to get everyone introduced, and sorry for the shortness of the chapter. The story will kick up in the next one._


	2. The First Exam

Hi, back. Sorry for the long wait. I have no excuse. But I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 2: The First Exam**

Hiorie slowly opened his eyes, the light shinning on his headband. He looked at his surroundings. "Man, what I wouldn't do for just a bit more sleep." He said sleepily. He looked in the sky. 'It's about midday, judging from the suns position.' He thought. "OH FUCK!!!! THE EXAM!!" He screamed. He jumped into the trees and made his way towards Konoha as fast as his newly awoken body would let him.

"It's about damn time you got here!" Kuro said once Hiorie had reached the exam area. "Come on in already! We're late enough as it is!"

"Where's Kysona?" Hiorie asked, gasping for air.

"She said she wasn't going to wait for your sorry ass. Now get in the fucking building already!" Kuro responded angrily.

Once they had met up with a pissed-off Kysona, they registered and walked through the exam door. When they arrived on the other side, they were greeted with countless dirty looks. As well as nine very curious ones really close.

"What are you all staring at?" Kuro said, taunting the crowd.

Hiorie looked around and spotted a pleasant sight. Kabuto was on the ground throwing up blood. "Kabuto, get your ass off the ground." Hiorie complained, pissed at the fact that he wasn't the one who did it to him. The sound ninja standing near him turned his head and stared at Hiorie. But before he could say anything, some kid in an orange, jump suit interrupted him.

"Hey, what's with the blindfold?" The kid said.

"I wear it so I don't have to look annoying kids like you in the eye." Hiorie said, not even looking at the kid.

"Don't underestimate me, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'll kick your ass, believe it!!" Naruto boasted.

"Yeah, that'll be a sight to see." Hiorie responded sarcastically.

There was an explosion at the front of the room. "Ok, listen up! My name is Ibiki Morino your examiner, and from this moment on, your worst enemy." A big man, twice the size of anyone else in the room, yelled proudly. Everyone stood, looking at the giant man and the countless ninja surrounding him. "First, you ninja from the sound village, knock it off, who told you you could fight! You want to fail before we've even begun!" Ibiki said more than asked.

Sorry. It's our first time, guess we were a little jumpy, _sir_." One of the sound ninja said, pretending to show respect.

"I'll say this once so listen up." Ibiki said loudly to the group. "There will be no combat between candidates. No attacking each other without the permission of your examiner. And even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?"

"No fatal force, that's no fun." Another ninja from the sound village taunted.

"Now, if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chunnin Exam." Ibiki said, ignoring the last comment. "Hand over your paper work and you each be given a number. This number determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated."

'God damnit! I hate written tests.' Kuro thought to himself.

"The what? Did he say written?" Naruto asked, not wanting to know the answer. As if trying to taunt him, one of the chunnin held up a stack of papers. "NO!! NOT A WRITTEN TEST!! NO WAY!!"

'Geez, this part of the test is so annoying. What a waste of an hour.' Hiorie thought, once they all had their seats. 'I wonder how the others are? Especially Kysona. These have always been her weak spots. Kuro should be fine, if he can stay sitting still for this whole part of the test.'

'Why does it have to be a written test?' Kysona thought, desperate for a way out of this besides leaving. 'I knew I should have studied more in the academy.'

'Well this is going to be boring as hell.' Thought Kuro, already growing impatient.

Ibiki tapped a piece of chalk on the chalkboard to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, eyes front," Ibiki said, easily getting the attention of everyone in the room. "There are a few rules you need to be aware of. And I won't answer any questions; so you better pay attention the first time around! Alright, rule number one is this: the written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary what some of you may be used to, you will all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So if you miss three, your final score will be seven. Rule number two: teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members."

Most everyone gasped. 'God Damnit!!! Man, they're going to kill me for this.' Kysona thought, resting her head in her palm.

'Kysona, please, please don't fuck up on this.' Kuro prayed.

"What?! Wait a second, you're saying we all get scored as a team?!" A girl called out.

"Silence!" Ibiki order. "I have my reasons, so shut up and listen! Rule number three: the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot; they will subtract two points from the culprits score. Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times you will be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheated by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here.

'I've got my eye on you guys." One of the sentinels said, scaring two genin next to Kuro shitless.

"If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be. One more thing, If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."

"That's bull shit!" Kuro screamed, causing most everyone in the room to look at him.

"The final question won't be given out until the last 15 minutes before the end of the testing period." Ibiki said, ignoring Kuro. "You will have one hour total. Begin."

Everyone turned over their papers and started. Hiorie could here annoyed grunts from the people around him, along with countless pencil taps. 'I wonder how many of them are actually writing something useful?' Hiorie wondered. 'That Uchiha kid behind me will probably figure out the point of the exam soon. I think I'll push his buttons a little bit.'

'Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shuriken thrown at enemy C by ninja A seated atop a tree seven meters tall. Describe and formulate the trajectory required if ninja C was positioned at points D, E, and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer.' Kysona read to herself, dumbfounded. 'What the fuck does that mean?!?!?!'

'Holy shit! I doubt even Hiorie could solve these!' Kuro thought. ' Wait… That's it!' He thought after a long pause. 'They want us to cheat. Just without being discovered. I see, I still don't get why Hiorie didn't tell us that in the first place.'

'I guess that would make for a logical explanation for this test.' Kysona thought. 'Still, Hiorie could have given us a little heads up.'

"He's finally figured it out." Hiorie whispered to himself. And so, he began to write.

'Score, I hit the jackpot with this guy.' Sasuke thought, 'Wait, what am I writing?' He stopped coping Hiorie's paper and looked at his work. There was a picture of Sasuke laying on the ground knocked out and Hiorie standing triumphantly on top of him. Sasuke was stunned, 'What the hell? Damnit,' He reached for the eraser because the picture took up most of the paper, but it wasn't there. He looked up and saw Hiorie twirling two erasers in his hand. He stopped twirling them and Sasuke could make out a massage on them. There was a smiley face on one of them with its tongue sticking out at him. Sasuke growled inwardly. An eraser hit him in the face and he looked at it. It had a message as well.

It read 'come' on, you're better than that Uchiha. You'll have to step it up a notch if you want to pass this exam. Good luck.' Sasuke looked up and Hiorie was still showing the eraser with the face. He laughed inwardly and went back to getting information after he had erased the picture.

Hiorie reached into his pouch on the back of his waist and pulled something out. It was a six-sided cube with nine smaller squares on each side. Each side had a different color. Hiorie took the liberty of naming it, he called it a Rubric's Cube. He held it in his hand and poured his chakra into it. It spun faster than any ninja could hope to follow then slowly came to a stop. It was now completely mixed up and Hiorie grabbed the side of it and turned it.

'If they want to get threw this quickly then they probably won't even bother grading them……. Wait, he said he'll give us the tenth question late Why not now? What is so important about the tenth question that we can't get it immediately?' Kuro wondered. 'It can't be a knowledge question, that wouldn't make sense. It would be to hard to copy. I'll guess I'll have to wait and find out. I have no jutsu fit for this situation. Damnit. How did he get threw this the first time?'

'Well, I give up. I never bothered to study any undercover jutsu so I guess I'll just have to follow Hiorie's lead when it all comes down to it.' Kysona decided. 'We have about ten minutes until the last question, please make it easy.'

Hiorie had now completed the cube three times and was rearranging it again. 'I need to make a more complicated one. This is to easy.' He thought as he continued to solve, mix up, and resolve it again and again.

Suddenly Ibiki's voice rang through the room. "Alright, listen up! Here the tenth and final question."

"Well it's about damn time." Kuro whispered to himself.

"But," Ibiki continued. "Before I give you the tenth question; there are some more rules that you need to be aware of." Suddenly the door opened and a kid from the sand village walk in after using the restroom. "Take your seat." Ibiki ordered. The sand ninja obliged and took the long way to his seat. Hiorie noted that he dropped something on the table where his teammate sat. "These rules are unique for question ten." Ibiki said slowly. "Listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you.

"Man, does this guy think that he's actually scaring us??" Kysona pondered.

"Very well then, rule number one: each of you is free to chose not to be given the final question. It's your decision." He said seriously. This cause numerous gasps and whispers from without the room. "If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless to your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail. And therefore both your teammates fail as well." More distinct whispers flew threw the room now. Some people shouted out at Ibiki for such a dumb and important rule, but he quickly shut them up. "I wouldn't be to eager to jump to conclusions if I were you. You didn't let me finish."

'Come on already. I'm tired of these damn rules. Let's just get it over with.' Kuro thought.

Ibiki waiting for everyone's attention then continued. "If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be barred from taking the chunin exam ever again!!"

"Say what?!?!" Kysona screamed.

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!?!" A kid with a dog on his head yelled. "There's lots of people who have taken this test before!"

Ibiki slowly started to laugh. "I guess your just…… unlucky." He taunted slowly. "I wasn't making the rules before; but I am now. Of course, if you don't want to take it. You don't have to. If your not feeling confident, then by all means, skip it. You can come back and try again next year." Ibiki started to laugh again, enjoying their moment of torment. "Now then, the tenth and final question. If any of you don't want to take then raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and then your free to go."

Slowly, people started raising their hands and giving up. Kuro and Kysona looked over to Hiorie who shaking his head lightly. 'I'll take that as a 'don't give up' sign.' They both thought. Most everyone in the room started to leave. Eventually there was only a handful left, but still more than Ibiki expected.

Naruto slowly raised his hand. Everyone who knew who he was looked at him with utter astonishment. Hiorie was a little surprised as well. Naruto suddenly slammed his hand on the ground. "Don't underestimate me!! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren't going to scare me of. NO WAY!!! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage!!"

"This decision is on that could change your life." Ibiki said. "For any reason you would rather quit; now is your last chance."

"No way. I never go back on my word." Naruto said. "That's the way of the ninja."

"Well then, I admire your determination. Nothing else." He said after he exchanged a few nods with the sentinels. "With those of you remaining, there is only one thing left to do. And that's to tell you; that you've all passed the first exam!" Suddenly people started to ask question and Ibiki smiled broadly. "There never was one. Not a written one at least. Actually your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question. For those of you who didn't figure it out. The first nine questions were to test your ability to gather information under serious circumstances. Most of you did a good job at that so you pass." Ibiki took of his bandana, showing his head. "Information, it can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather intelligence could determine wither a mission is a failure, or a success."

Everyone looked at him with the utmost disgust. His head was covered in scars and puncture wounds. 'It's amazing to think what he must have endured.' Kysona thought.

"Remember this." Ibiki continued after he put his bandana back on. "Disinformation is worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrade or the loss of a village. That is why I put you in the position to gather accurate intelligence. You have all successfully answered the ten questions I have given to you. You have earned the right to move on to the next step. I hereby declare this part of the chunin exam over."

Suddenly, something came smashing threw the window a long flag hung from the ceiling. "Heads up boys and girls! This is no time to be celebrating." A woman in the middle of the flag said. She wore a fish net and a trench coat over it, a skirt and shin guards. "I'll be your next examiner, Anko Mitarashi! Ready for the second Exam? Good then let's go!! Follow me!"

'She's psycho!!' Kuro thought. 'And I thought Kysona was scary.'

Ibiki's head popped out from behind the flag. "Your early again." He said plainly.

"Ibiki, how many are there? You let to many pass, you must be getting soft." Anko responded.

"Or it could be….. a strong crowd of candidates this year." He said.

"They sure don't look it. By the time I'm done with them, less than half will remain." Anko taunted. "Alright you maggots have had it easy so far but, things will be different first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where to find me. Dismissed.

"Damn!! She is one psycho bitch!!" Kuro said on their way home.

"Please, you haven't the slightest idea of what we are going to do tomorrow." Hiorie said, still playing with his cube.

"Then how about you tell us so we can prepare." Kysona said irritably.

"Was that the wind?" Hiorie mocked, ignoring Kysona. "Well I guess we'd all better get some sleep. Rough days coming."

"_Days??_" Kuro asked suspiciously, hoping that it wasn't suppose to be plural.

"Good night." Hiorie said, turning down his street and heading home.

"I hate it when he does that." Kuro complained angrily.

"Oh well, just deal with it. Hiorie won't tell anyone anything, remember??" Kysona replied, still obviously irritated. "Well good night."

"But it's not even dusk yet. Why are you going to bed??" Kuro questioned.

"Hiorie said we'll need our sleep so I suggest that we get it." Kysona said, yawning. "Besides I'm tired so…." She let out another big yawn.

""Yeah, you have a point. Well, good night then." Kuro said, he then turned and walked home.

Well!!!! It has been way to long since I updated this thing so I thought I should. Hope you liked it and thanks to my reviewers!! You rock!!!


	3. Team Eleven's Backround

HEY!!! I'm back!! I hope you guys are enjoying this story. Thank you so much to my very few reviewers!!! You guys saved this story. I apologize for the long wait but school is ending I had to finish some stuff up. Well, and I've been blowing it off a bit due to the annoying ability to not be able type this the way I wanted it. But that won't happened again!! Well here's the next chapter!!!

**Chapter 3: Team Eleven's Backround**

Hiorie was slowly walking to the meeting place for the second exam with Kuro and Kysona talking behind him.

"Hiorie, are you sure that this is the place that we're suppose to meet??" Kuro asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. This is where we met last time." Hiorie responded. Since Kazu was out on a mission they never got the message.

"Why do you play with that thing so much??" Kysona questioned, simply annoyed that all he basically did was play with his cube. "It's all you do!" Hiorie ignored her.

"The meeting place is that way." Hiorie said, pointing ahead of himself. He then turned and went to the right.

"Well where are you going?" Kuro asked with a confused face. "Oh yeah, now I remember." Kuro said to himself. He ran to catch up to Hiorie and Kysona. By the time he did, they had reached the memorial stone and no one dared to speak. They had all lost someone important in battle. Hiorie had lost his comrades. No one knows what happened to his family. Kuro's dad died in the great ninja war. His sister was one of Orochimaru's victims and his mother died giving birth to him. He now lived with his older brother, Genma. Kysona had an uncle that took care of her after her parents left her for dead when she was still a baby. He, although, died by a man in a long black robe with red clouds on it when she was nine. Her uncle tried to stop him from attacking one of Konoha's military outposts, but he was easily slain. All they knew was that the robed man carried a large bandaged sword.

"_So, you ready to dominate the second exam, Hiorie?" Kosuke asked him._

"_Sure, I guess." He responded uncertainly. The sun reflected off of his headband and glinted brightly in the early morning._

"_Oh cheer up!" Angel said reassuringly. She lightly kissed his forehead. "It'll be fine, don't stress over it." Hiorie felt himself blush and quickly maneuvered his way out of her reach and his comrades laughed openly._

"_Relax Hiorie, what's the worst that could happen? I mean, it's not like we're going to die or anything." Kosuke said sarcastically. He wrapped his arms around Angel's waist and she turned around and kissed him firmly on the lips. It was mean to be playful , but it soon flared into a passionate scene._

_Hiorie watched them for a moment, deep in thought. He turned around to give them their privacy and leaned his shoulder against a tree. He envied them. Angel was a beautiful kunoichi with extraordinary talent and potential. Kosuke was a good-looking, charming genius. It was rare to see someone who could match his strength. They were locked into a very serious relationship that death itself probably couldn't break. To Hiorie, they were the older siblings he always wanted. They would back him up on anything that came his way._

"_So Hiorie, When are you going to let see what's behind that blindfold of yours anyway?" Kosuke asked after he caught up to him. Hiorie looked down to his feet and said nothing. "Ok, so you're sensitive about it. I'll make you a deal. After we ram through these exams and we are all sitting proudly as chunin; you tell us about that blindfold and Angel and I will tell you anything you want to know."_

"_Don't bring me into this." Angel commanded, throwing her arms up trying to act innocent. "I don't care why you ware it. Why you do is for you to know and you alone. If you don't mind other people knowing then tell them. BUT never, ever tell someone out of pity or pain. Only tell them if you wish for them to know." She looked deep into the metal covering his eyes. Then she turned her head over to Kosuke. "And don't me ever let me catch you persuading him to tell a thing. Got it?"_

"_Ok ok!!! Just chill alright, geez. I wasn't going to do anything, just asking a question." Kosuke said, putting his hands up in defense. She lightly punched him in the stomach._

"_Yeah, I know." She replied, smiling innocently._

Hiorie was brought out of this thoughts by a light sobbing sound. He looked down at Kysona. She was on her knees with her hands covering her face. Kuro kneeled down beside her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Hiorie slowly sat on the ground next to Kysona and stared at the names of his comrades. 'Kosuke Yuramori. Angel Hikyo. I killed you. I wasn't strong enough to stand up for myself. And because of that; you both perished. I will set things right, I promise. I will avenge your deaths. Kabuto will die by my hand, or I by his. That wouldn't be so bad. After all, if I died, then I could join you guys again. But….' Hiorie looked over at Kuro and Kysona, who were both in a state of despair. As if they were reliving the memories of the day it all happened. 'They need me, don't they Kosuke.' He asked as if Kosuke was right there with him.

Hiorie could hear what Kosuke would have said, 'Yeah! They need you a lot more than you need us. Besides we can wait for a while.' Hiorie smiled to himself and stood up. He walk over to the others, stood them both up and wiped the tears from their eyes. "Come 'on now. There's no need for tears." He said comfortingly, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. He smiled brightly. "What do you say we show these guys who their messin' with?" They returned his smile and color reentered their faces.

888

'Well It's about time we got here. Hiorie said he knew the way' Kysona thought to herself. 'Uh oh. Looks like were a tad late.'

"Sorry guys, I got lost." Hiorie said, scratching the back of his head. Don't worry about the rules. I'll explain them once the exam starts." Since they were late, an hour late to be exact, Anko wouldn't let them join. But, luckily, the Third happened to be there checking in and convinced Anko to let them compete in the exam. She gave them a scroll but refused to explain the rules to them. Once they had gotten to through their gate, Hiorie turned to his teammates.

"Ok, here's what we need to do." Hiorie said as he pulled out the heaven scroll they had been given. "We need to kick the shit out of the other competitors to get an earth scroll. Once we have one of those, AND we still have the heaven scroll, we are to go to the tower in the middle of the forest." He pointed northwest to signify where the tower was. "We have five days to complete this task."

"Ok, doesn't sound that hard. They gave us way to much time." Kuro said, pretty confident in his ability.

"No, they didn't." Hiorie exclaimed. "It's ten kilometers from here to the tower. Which is about a days walk in itself, but we also will have to stray from the path to search for the other scroll we need. And the time we'll need to rest will interfere. Don't underestimate this exam. OK!!! LET"S GO!!!" Hiorie screamed. He jumped into the nearest tree and the other two soon followed.

I swear that the next chapter will have action. And a lot of it too. ) I just wanted to get this chapter up A.S.A.P. Hope you enjoyed it and stay with me because the next chapter will be longer and better!!! (.)


	4. The Rain Ninja

HI!!! Thank you so much to my reviewers!!! Your guys feedback is wonderful! You make me feel so special! Anyway, I promised action in this chapter so you're going to get it. Hope you enjoy!!

**Chapter 4: The Rain Ninja**

Hiorie flew through the trees, using his hook shots to swing from tree to tree. Kuro and Kysona were having some trouble keeping up. It wasn't long before they were asking him to slow down and wait up. "Come on guys, we need to get through this exam as fast as possible." Hiorie commented irritably.

"Shut it, blind boy!!" Kysona snapped, causing Hiorie to slightly twitch. "How the hell do you go so fast??" She asked after she had caught her breath. "Those chains give you one hell of an advantage."

"They're called hook shots." Hiorie said, sighing at the fact that he had to remind her every time she mentioned his weapons.

"Whatever. Ok let's…." But Kysona was silenced by a kunai to her throat before she could finish. Hiorie stared and the shinobi holding his companion, not wanting to make any sudden moves to end his friends life. 'A woman? I don't know but it sure smells like one.' Kysona thought.

"Hand over the scroll and I'll let her live." The woman said threateningly.

'Kuro, come on!' Hiorie thought to himself. Suddenly the woman grunted loudly, dropped the kunai and arched her back. Kysona quickly spun out of her attacker's arms over to where Hiorie was standing. A short blade was slowly being pulled out of the shinobi's chest. The body fell to the ground and Kuro walked out from behind it, cleaning and sheathing his blade.

Kysona walked over to her attackers body and stared at it. "A rain ninja." She said just loud enough for the other two to hear. "Bitch!!" She yelled as she kicked the ninja's limp body as hard as she could. Hiorie clenched his head with his hand and started breathing heavily. "I hope she has an earth scroll."

Kuro looked deeply at Hiorie, wondering what was wrong. Right when he was about to ask him, Kysona grunted loudly. They both looked up and saw Kysona getting kicked in the face by a man swinging from a vine. Hiorie flew into action. He shot one hook shot and wrapped it around Kysona's waist, catching her. He shot the other one at the man and before he could get away, the chain wrapped around his neck. Hiorie yanked it back and heard a satisfying SNAP echo throughout the area. He motioned for Kuro to grab the girl's body and jump to the ground. Once they reached the ground, Hiorie quickly inspected Kysona.

"She was hit pretty hard." He said to Kuro, sighing deeply. "She'll be out for a while."

"Damnit." Kuro muttered while Hiorie checked the dead enemy bodies for a scroll. "Do they have it on them?"

"No." Hiorie said, letting out another sigh. Kuro walked off cursing while Hiorie stood and thought. 'They should have another companion with them. But where is he? He is probably waiting for us to drop our guard and strike us when we're sleeping or something. If he was smart he would attack now. Why were they following us earlier?' He thought referring to the real reason why the were late and why they got "lost". 'And if they were following us how did they still get to the exam on time. It's not coincidence that they found us this early in the exam either.' Hiorie was starting to get frustrated. He leaned up against a tree and put his palm on his forehead. 'What the hell's going on!? I've never even seen a rain ninja before yet…' He thought back to what Kysona had said. 'I want to say that it was déjà vu but….. It's not. I don't have a connection with any rain ninja or their village.' He reassured himself. 'Right?'

Hiorie suddenly ducked and dove forward. He quickly turned around to the tree he was using to hold himself up. It slowly fell over, making a loud crash echo through the forest. "Damnit!" He cursed inwardly. He quickly jumped back and a kunai landed right where he was standing. He looked up, but no one was there. He dodged to the side and a kunai passed by him. This time, the moment he looked back, he quickly turned around again and saw a shuriken fly his way. He grabbed it and threw it to the side.

"Show yourself!!" Hiorie screamed. He looked in front of him and a ninja dropped down from the trees. He slowly lifted his head. 'RAIN!!' Hiorie stared at the forehead protector, frozen. 'I don't know this!! I don't know this!!' He told himself over and over again. But he just couldn't shake the familiarity in it all. He scowled and shook it off. He heard a POOF next to him and looked at the dead girl's body. It was a log. 'Shit!! A Replacement!' He thought as he turned ahead and saw another ninja next to the boy. Hiorie threw a kunai at the dead boy's body. It stuck in him and Hiorie waited for the transformation, but it never came.

"Yeah, he's dead." The girl said causing Hiorie to turn his head and drop to a ready stance. "You don't seriously expect to beat me do you? Come on Hiorie, use you head a little." Hiorie took a look of surprise at this. He reached into his coat and pulled out a kunai and two small different colored balls. One blue, and one green. They both looked at him oddly. He threw the kunai between them and they both dodged different directions. Hiorie ran at the boy and tossed the blue ball at the girl's feet. It quickly burst into a huge smokescreen. "Oh come on, please don't tell that this is your best." She said, mocking him. Hiorie smirked and kicked at the boy. He grabbed Hiorie's foot and threw him into the smokescreen. Just as Hiorie was thrown he chucked the green ball at the ground. Nothing happened causing the boy to laugh. Hiorie threw his hands together and focused his chakra to an extreme extent. He released it and the ball at the boy's feet exploded into a huge inferno, disintegrating him instantly.

'So far, so good.' Hiorie thought, 'One left, who I need to interrogate thoroughly. What the hell does she now about me?' He landed on the ground in the middle of the smokescreen and twirled a hook shot over his head. The smokescreen was quickly swept away, leaving him and the girl staring each other down. She smirked and charged him.

"Idiot." Hiorie muttered under his breath. She kicked at him and he wrapped his hook shot around her leg, pulled, spun around and back-handed her across the face. He reeled in his weapon and sheathed it. She got up and grinned widely.

"Good Hiorie." She said slyly. "You've progressed in your training much more than I had expected. I'm impressed."

"That's good for you but I really don't care what the _fuck_ you think about me." He responded with more anger than what he originally planned. He walked up to her slowly. "Stand up."

"No that's alright. I'm pretty comfortable right here. You can join me if you want." She said, tapping the ground next to her.

"Yeah, fuck you." Hiorie sighed, sarcastically.

"Gladly!!" She yelled enthusiastically. Hiorie took a step back in surprise. She quickly got up and jumped into his arms, toppling them over. She rammed her lips into his and tried to pin him down but Hiorie put his foot on her stomach and pushed as hard as he could.

"Oh goody!!" She yelled sinisterly, holding her stomach. "I love it when it's rough!!" She stood up and charged him.

"Crazy whore!!" He yelled back, pulling out a kunai and blocking her strike. She jumped over him and stabbed a kunai into his spinal cord. She smiled widely. Hiorie limply fell to the ground. His body burst into smoke and a log was left in his place.

"Alright! I was hoping that you weren't that easy to kill." She screamed into the forest, obviously frustrated.

'Where the fuck is Kuro!!?!?' Hiorie thought, also frustrated. 'How can he not hear any of this!? Damnit, looks like I'm on my own. Ok Hiorie, relax.' He looked down at the bitch below from his hiding place in a tree. She was pacing around until her eye caught something. 'What's she looking….. FUCK!! Kysona's still down there!!' But before he could even move, she was next to Kysona with a kunai to her neck.

"Ok Hiorie. Come out!!!" She yelled threateningly. "You have two options!! One, you stay hidden and watch her and that other bastard die like what happened to Kosuke and Angel. Then I leave you to wallow in despair. Two, You come down and I kill you, then I kill your friends." There was a long silence. "Oh well, I liked option #1 better anyway." She raised her kunai above her head and smiled broadly.

'What?? How does she know……. Wait.' Hiorie clenched his fist tightly. His mind flew back to the ambush on his team. The girl drove her kunai towards Kysona's neck. Hiorie suddenly appeared by her and grabbed her wrist. She looked up.

"So you've chosen…" But before she could finish her sentence, Hiorie punted her. She flew back until she hit a tree about twenty feet away.

"_Never_ threaten my comrades." Hiorie threatened, trying to control his rage. "I swear, I'll kill you!!!!"

The girl grinned. "Well, looks like my sister does have a good man. I'll admit, I'm jealous."

Kuro suddenly appeared and ran in front of Hiorie. "Hiorie, sorry for the wait. I had to deal with something. Apparently, these guys had a trap hidden and it took me a bit to get rid of it." He said, as if he was late to dinner or something. "Who is she anyway?"

There was a long pause. "This is Hana Hitomi, Kysona's sister."

* * *

Yeah, things are going to get crazy from here on out. I was hoping for more action this time around but the next chapter will have more. Along with some answers to some questions. Hope you liked it!! The next chapter will take me a while though. I've got a lot of food on my plate. 


	5. Reunion

Hi everyone!! A very special thanks to **Winter-Rae** and **Ripuku **for their wonderful feedback. Without you guys, this story would still be nowhere. I apologize for the long wait. I've hit a dead point in life and it's been really hard for me lately. Well, that, and school has picked back up as well as band so I'm going to try, but I can't make any guarantees on any quick updates. Also, I know I promised some answers, but... I don't think that there are too many, or any at all for that matter. Please, bear with me. Anyway, here is the next chapter, and I hope you like it!

**Chapter 5: Reunion**

Kuro turned around and stared at Hiorie in pure bewilderment. "Her sister?!" He said slowly. Hiorie nodded. "Why'd she try to kill her then? What kind of sisterly love is that?!?!"

"Never mind that, I'll explain everything later. I'll tell you and Kysona everything I know. But first, please help me kill her." He said uneasily.

"But, shouldn't we let Kysona….. I mean…. And why would you need my help??" Kuro asked suddenly, turning his slightly in Hiorie's direction.

"I don't want Kysona to find out about her sister at a time like this. In fact, I'd prefer it if she never knew." Hiorie stated seriously. "If she found out now, it would only make our problems worse."

"Oh, come on Hiorie!!" Hana begged eagerly, starting to bob up and down with excitement. "Let's start the fun already!!"

"Kuro, take her lightly, and you will die." Hiorie warned, walking up next to him. "Let's go!" Then they jumped in two different directions at the same time as if they had rehearsed it.

Hana kept her focus on Hiorie, expecting him to be the bigger threat. Kuro drew his right sword and jumped in front of her. Hana pulled out a kunai and easily blocked his first strike, also making sure to keep an eye on Hiorie, who was simply running along the trees. She brought up her left foot and Kuro easily grabbed it. She used his hand as a pivot point and spun around. She jabbed her kunai at the back of his neck but he ducked at the last second. Kuro then started to spin around in circles, being sure not to let go of her leg. Then he threw her in a random direction.

'Wow' Hana thought. 'He's good.' The moment she landed she felt hands tightly grip her shoulders. Before she had time to react though, Hiorie rammed his knee into her butt, causing her to arch her back and let out a very pained yelp. Hiorie quickly grabbed a kunai with an explosion note attached and slammed it into her exposed chest. He jumped away and set off the note. Kuro shielded eyes from the bright light and the dirt flying through the air while Hiorie readied another kunai.

"Wow, Hiorie. You know, that knee proved to look very wrong." Kuro said sarcastically. "You never struck me as the perverted type."

"I'm not." Hiorie replied, smiling slightly. "I hit her there for a reason." They waited silently for the dust to clear. There was a bright flash and Kuro suddenly fell forward. Hiorie turned quickly to see Hana stumble and fall on her knees behind Kuro.

"You bastard…… You hit my tailbone!" Hana screamed at him, struggling to deal with the immense pain from the hit.

"I know." Hiorie stated casually. "What, did you actually think that I would even flirt with a girl like you?" Hana glared at him with the utmost of hatred. "Not in this life time."

Hana reached back and rubbed where Hiorie had kneed her. She whimpered lightly. "How could I lose to someone so weak? You're lucky that Saizo didn't get here in time."

"Really, and what ever happened to Yagisura?" Hiorie asked mockingly. Hiorie slowly approached her, kunai in hand.

"He's got other matters to attend to." She spat, still unable to move very well.

"Like what? Taking care of your poor Orochimaru?? I thought that that Kabuto's job." Hiorie was within striking distance now. He was savoring the moment. 'Finally,' He thought. 'I'm one step closer to avenging you.'

'Damnit, why can't I move?' Hana thought, starting to get really annoyed by the whole situation. 'He must have shot chakra through my spine. I'm paralyzed from the neck down.' Hiorie raised his hand. "It's about damn time." She said, smiling.

"Stop stalling and die!!" He yelled. His attack was inches from her when he jumped back a few feet. 'Shit.' A long arrow had hit the ground where he was previously standing. Hiorie looked up into the tree above them and saw a figure standing on a branch, another arrow loaded into its bow. The upper part of its face was covered with shadow from its hood and its mouth showed no expression what so ever. It released its arrow and Hiorie caught it effortlessly. He snapped it with his fingers and threw the bladed end into a tree to the side of him after he had discarded the other piece.

"You've improved." It said slowly. It had a deep, raspy voice with wisdom in every word. It was obviously very experienced. It jumped down next to Hana and loaded another arrow into its bow.

"What are you doing?" Hana question worriedly. "What about the boy?"

"Orochimaru wanted to deal with the problem himself." The figure replied simply.

"Yagisura, you were the last person I wanted to find here." Hiorie said, uneasily. He stared intensely at him, hoping for an opportunity to run. 'I can't take on both of them at once. Hana will be moving again soon too. And if Orochimaru is here, this is getting to be much more serious than I thought. The only way this could get worse would be if…… Oh no.' Hiorie scowled as a third person dropped next to Yagisura and Hana.

"Come on guys, why haven't you finished him yet?" It asked coldly, clearly disappointed. But before they could answer Hiorie spoke up.

"Saizo Samashi." He said slowly. "Your all here….. Lucky me. I get finish all three of you in one blow!!!" Hiorie's chakra started to leak from his body. He grabbed his hookshots and readied himself. They stared each other down for what seemed like days until….. Hana charged. 'So it begins. What the??' Hana reached into her pouch and pulled out a tiny dagger. Unfortunately though, within seconds, it rivaled Zabuza's blade. "That's a new trick." He said to himself uncomfortably. 'Damnit….. this changes everything.'

Hiorie jumped back to avoid her slash and went to counter attack but Saizo was too quick. He knocked Hiorie back a few feet with an incredible palm thrust. Hiorie rolled on the ground. Unfortunately though, he had no time to recover. Yagisura jumped over him and shot four arrows down on his prey. Hiorie struggled to knock them away, but did so nonetheless, then he focused chakra into his hands and heels. He raised them and smashed them on the ground. It shot him high into the air. Now was his chance.

When he reached the peak of his flight, he relaxed all his muscles and started free-falling to the ground, head first. He loved the feeling of the wind on his face so much that he nearly forgot about the problem at hand. He waited for the right moment, and it came to him clearly.

Saizo jumped where Hiorie would land and brandished a glove with three long, sharp claws at the end of it. The moment before Saizo's blade made contact with him, Hiorie grabbed Saizo's wrist, spun and chucked him as hard as he could in a gap in the trees. Hiorie landed, and dashed towards Hana, smiling at the satisfying crash he heard in the distance.

Hiorie wrapped a hookshot around Hana's waist and pulled her towards him. She squealed from the jerk, but was soon silenced by Hiorie's chakra-loaded fist to her face. She smashed into the ground limply about twenty feet away. Her sword flew from her hand and returned to its normal shape upon impact with the ground.

Hiorie quickly turned around and charged Yagisura. 'Last one.' He thought. 'Then I can grab the newbie's and get out of here before anyone else shows up.' He smoothly maneuvered his way through the constant volley of arrows coming his way. One hit his leg, but he ignored it. He only cared about getting Yagisura down even if only for a minute or two. If he could do that, then he could get away from this without loss.

Yagisura kicked Hiorie away effortlessly. Then he put his bow away and reached into his cloak. 'Shit, this isn't looking good.' Hiorie thought. Yagisura pulled out two daggers with wavy blades and hand-guards to fit a king's rapier. Yagisura dropped into a ready stance and waited. "Okay, I'm sick of this taijustu crap." Hiorie said coldly. "Let's end it already." He ripped out the arrow with a grunt and slowly stood up.

He grabbed the water canteen from his bag and dumped the water into a puddle in front of him. Yagisura steadily crept forward, on guard for anything. Hiorie knelt down and drenched his hands in the puddle. Then he flew through countless hand signs, to fast to follow with the naked eye. Yagisura remained motionless. Unfazed by anything Hiorie was doing. Three long, sharp blades suddenly pierced Hiorie's back and went through his chest. He looked down at the wound in shock.

"Hn, I guess Kosuke and Angel really did die for nothing." Saizo said, a little disappointed. Hiorie's hands were trembling on the blood stained metal. Saizo jammed the blades even farther into him, causing him to spit a load of blood.. His mind was spinning, his vision blurry. He tried to capture thought with feeling but nothing came. Then, the pain was gone. The blades had left his diminishing body. He hit the ground roughly and more blood spilled from his mouth.

'Is this it?' He thought, everything was going so slow for him. 'Is this really how it ends? No, it can't. I haven't gotten back at them yet. I haven't fulfilled my promises. But, what am I going to do? They beat me. All this time, all the hours and sleepless nights. I thought I could have actually stood a chance. But it was pointless. Is this why I'm here. To die and leave my friends in pain?' Kysona's body was thrown in front of him. Her face calm and peaceful.

His vision now started to darken. Everything was dispersing into the darkness. With the last of his strength he reached up and clutched her hand tightly. 'I'm sorry.' He felt it give a light squeeze in return, but nothing more. 'See you on the other side….'

* * *

-Cries- Yeah, this was hard for me to do. By doing this I have two options: make the story incredibly hard to write and for reader's not to cry, or, make the story pretty hard to write. So, naturally, I chose the incredibly hard one. I know that last of it was pretty poorly written and I apologize for that but I just wanted to get the idea across and get this installment... well... installed. The next two chapters will explain some stuff I promise, and I'm getting some control on my life again so I hope that the next chapter gets here sooner too. 


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